Cora will be #11; Cafardo will complain about the team's use of analytics.Who do you think will be number one?
Aaron Boone is no doubt top ten.
Cora will be #11; Cafardo will complain about the team's use of analytics.Who do you think will be number one?
Aaron Boone is no doubt top ten.
That reminds me--I need to go back at the last few RTM columns to see which managers got fired during the respective seasons.I figure only two or three more Sundays before Rate The Managers week, always high comedy.
Boone's grandfather was a scout for the Red Sox, Aaron Boone is going to get a GREAT ranking.He won’t be too flattering of Boone but he will make plenty of excuses. Cora’s will be full of hedges, caveats and backhanded compliments because he’s only done it one year.
The STORIES! That’s why we pay these guys!Who will tell the great baseball stories of how a player was discovered or how a player who made it to the Hall of Fame was bypassed in the amateur draft? What will we be left with?
He has a point though. Without these scouts, who will tell these great baseball stories? Do you expect there to be some sort of professional writing guy who works for like a newspaper or something to tell great, interesting baseball stories?The STORIES! That’s why we pay these guys!
Quintessential Cafardo.
And then, about 6 or 7 paragraphs later:You’re seeing some of the craziest titles for executives and you wonder sometimes, is this baseball?
When you thumb through the titles of front office executives now, you wonder if this is baseball.
Tough but fair policy.Did the teams cut the scouts' tongue out when they fired them? Are they no longer allowed to tell stories?
He's the James Shields of his era!I’ve voted for Mussina since he became eligible in 2014. I always respected that he pitched his entire career in the tough AL East.
To play out Nick's argument which is stupid to begin with, at least James Shields had to pitch against both the Yankees and Red Sox his whole career. Mussina being on the Yankees himself the last 9 years of his career probably faced a composite divisional schedule under .500, so the out-of-division schedule season by season were more difficult for him on balance.He's the James Shields of his era!
■ When you ask the game’s general hierarchy which team has won the offseason, a common answer is the Yankees. And with good reason. They have solidified their rotation with J.A. Happ and James Paxton; improved their bullpen with Adam Ottavino and Britton; and their lineup with infielder DJ LeMahieu, who won the NL batting title two years ago. And they may not be done. After trading Sonny Gray to the Reds, there’s a possibility the Yankees could pick off one of the remaining free agent starters.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2019/01/26/growing-rift-between-baseball-players-and-owners-threat-labor-peace/hf3HD1BL58VOzd1jaAnpkJ/story.html3. Aaron Sele, scout, Cubs — We wrote about the former Red Sox righthander in this space last week after he left the Marlins organization when his situation became untenable. Sele was scooped up shortly thereafter by the Cubs to scout pitching. We’ve written a lot about Derek Jeter’s Marlins in this space. It’s just astounding that such a classy player who played his entire career with a classy organization such as the Yankees would take such a different approach with the organization he now runs. Owner Bruce Sherman can’t possibly endorse this.
Fixed that for you, Nick.Imagine if theRed SoxBoston Globe didn’t have35sixty-something-year-oldSteve PearceNick Cafardo. Would they have won the World Series? Olderplayerswriters bring clubhouse chemistry. They act as leaders and de facto coaches. They bring all of the intangible things that youngerplayerswriters can’t offer until they’ve gained a little wisdom and experience. They offer things that analytic models can’t always calculate.
Who and/or what is Nick referring to as the game's "general hierarchy"?:When you ask the game’s general hierarchy which team has won the offseason, a common answer is the Yankees.
If re-signing JA Happ counts as "solidifying" the rotation and re-signing Britton counts as "improving" their bullpen, then sure the Yankees have won the offseason.
I hate the Yankees and Cafardo as much as anyone, but he does mention Paxton and Ottavino as wellSolidifying is the new improving
Yes, it was especially enjoyable when Don Denkinger's blown call changed the probable result of a World Series, when Jim Joyce's blown call took a perfect game away from Armando Galarraga, when Jeffrey Maier helped the Yankees to stay alive in the playoffs, etc. The 2018 ALDS would have been much better had Angel Hernandez' blown calls actually been allowed to stand. Those times were much better than using instant replay to get calls right. Let's go back to letting umpires actually make mistakes which they just aren't allowed to do any more.4. All of the time-saving ideas for improving pace of play are negated by time spent on instant replay. Get rid of it. I enjoyed the days when umpires actually made mistakes, and when managers would come out of the dugout to perform a colorful and entertaining argument, as Billy Martin and Earl Weaver once did. The technological advancements have made the game more boring.
And if he'd just listed those two, his point would have held and been better writing. Any other writer and I'd think he was padding his word count, but he truly thought he was bolstering his case by including those guys.I hate the Yankees and Cafardo as much as anyone, but he does mention Paxton and Ottavino as well
I for one know that I watched the nfccg a week ago and came out of it thinking that I would enjoy other sports more if they too had season killing blown calls with no way to fix them.Yes, it was especially enjoyable when Don Denkinger's blown call changed the probable result of a World Series, when Jim Joyce's blown call took a perfect game away from Armando Galarraga, when Jeffrey Maier helped the Yankees to stay alive in the playoffs, etc. The 2018 ALDS would have been much better had Angel Hernandez' blown calls actually been allowed to stand. Those times were much better than using instant replay to get calls right. Let's go back to letting umpires actually make mistakes which they just aren't allowed to do any more.
How do you leave off Jim Bowden, Nick's "a National League General Manager" for years?Fixed that for you, Nick.
Who and/or what is Nick referring to as the game's "general hierarchy"?:
- Scott Boras
- Brian Cashman
- J.P. Ricciardi
- Brian Sabean
- Dennis Gilbert
- Scouty McScout
A couple years ago my wife and I were watching baseball, something she nearly never does. I mentioned "oh cool, this guy is wearing number zero." She asked why that was cool, and I started in on how when I was younger, sportscasters/ writers would occasionally tsk, tsk it as being somehow unserious or disrespectful. She was incredulous and genuinely confused, and I very quickly thought "wait, am I remembering this right?" I thought, ok, that can't be true, I must have misunderstood something and had it concretize as reality in my youth. Then I forgot about it.Don't forget his finger wagging at the Yanks for allowing someone to wear #0. How exactly is 0 less classy than 91 or 99 (Alfredo Aceves and, of course, Aaron Judge), numbers hardly worn by anyone else in baseball?
Sure but you can’t say “The Yankees have improved their bullpen by signing a guy and resigning a guy they had last year.” Shocking I know, but it’s bad writing from Nick with the added bonus of being offseason Yankee genuflecting.I hate the Yankees and Cafardo as much as anyone, but he does mention Paxton and Ottavino as well
And that's it. Not one word more. ... He mentions the possibility (roughly two weeks from now) of every major league player refusing to report to spring training -- but believes, apparently, that typing the words is enough "thinking" about that issue.A few issues to think about as we move closer to spring training:
The rift between team owners and players is growing wider by the day ... Both sides are on a collision course toward a major blowup and threat to future labor peace.
Will the Players Association take major action to protest what it feels is unfair labor practices by the owners? There already are some discussions on the player side on things they could do to get the owners’ attention. One suggestion was a spring training boycott.
He quotes Costas as saying Manny failed three drug tests, not that he was suspended three times. I assume he's counting the 2003 test that was supposed to be anonymous as the third failure, in addition to the two that resulted in suspensions.Credit where credit is due, Cafardo’s piece about why steroids matter in MLB but not the NFL was decent. Though he should have corrected Costas when he said Manny was suspended three times for PEDs, I believe it was only two.
This [DH in both leagues] proposal would get thumbs up from the union, which wants more job opportunities. DH types are restricted to 15 teams now, but open it up to 30, and teams would be forced to junk their analytic models and hire good hitters who are over 30 years old.
That reads like he's in favor of the change.Nick? Change? Change is for toll booths, pay phones and laundromats:
He would be in favor of sending infants without batting helmets up to hit against blindfolded pitchers as long as it "forced teams to junk their analytic models." The latter is what hasn't changed.That reads like he's in favor of the change.
and teams would be forced to junk their analytic models and hire good hitters who are over 30 years old.
He read your post and punk'd youAaron Boone is no doubt top ten.
I consult with some of the people I respect most in the game and ask how they would rank the top 10, but it’s rare that I agree with them.
Answers to your questions:Obviously I have no idea if Nick reads this thread, but why would he? Would you read something that 98% of the time is critical of you? Who needs the aggravation?
The rankings themselves are utterly meaningless. It is an impossible thing to quantify anyway, and he has never stated any criteria or guidelines to measure against. That's the point of the mockery--it is an inane and meaningless "list" with contradictory, idiotic, and confusing commentary accompanying it.This was generally one of his less egregious manager rankings. Cora at one is a little edgy but a smart pick. Lovullo probably should have been higher based on his early performance, the job he did filling in in Boston and the fact that his roster in AZ has been picked apart since.
Boone is ridiculous tho – his ranking should have been below 16 (ie, bottom half) and rationale should have been “His team performed well and he is generally well liked – however his in game decisions are suspect.” And if Nick wanted to do his “feeling” shit he could’ve said something like, “There’s a feeling that perhaps Boone is a bit over his head but time will tell.”
If Nick wanted to do this seriously he’d include pros and cons for each manager. Instead it’s all gut reactions and hagiography. But science isn’t really his thing I guess.